Zach Barney has valuable insight into the different aspects of a buyer’s psyche, and in this video he explains why understanding the mind frame of a lead can make or break your chances at eventually landing a deal with them.

If you’re familiar with sales and marketing then you know that a buyer’s journey is the process a client goes through when moving from being just a prospect to being a signed customer.

An example of a buyer’s journey is: Prospect -> Awareness Stage -> Research Stage -> Consideration Stage -> Decision Stage -> Customer. As a salesperson, you have to be their guide and take them through these stages while overcoming any obstacles that you encounter along the way.

The problem with the traditional buyer’s journey, Zach explains, is that it misses the analysis of your Total Addressable Market (TAM).

When you reach out to a company for the first time, you need to pay attention to the “signals,” that speak to their interest in needing your product. The signals can be conversations a colleague had with them, company press releases, public information, etc. These, along with your initial conversation with them, will help you gauge which of the below TAM buckets they fall into.

30% of your TAM know they do not need you

30% of your TAM don’t think they need you

30% of your TAM doesn’t care

7% of your TAM is open to a conversation

3% of your TAM is actively trying to solve a problem you can fix

A lot of people think the purpose of their initial conversation with a lead is to take them through the entire buyer’s journey of not knowing about you to being a signed customer. Instead, Zach says, your job is to get them from “I don’t need you” to “I don’t think I need you.” Next, you need to get them from “I don’t care” to “I’m open to a conversation” and so on and so forth.

It often takes time to move a prospect through these stages, so focus on the long game. By understanding their buyer psyche, you can make them aware of the benefits they gain from working with you, address any objections they have, and take them through the TAM stages until they are your newest client.